2009 BMW M3 ConvertibleThe engine’s smooth high-pitched crescendo to redline is a sweet song, and the dual-clutch transmission is impressively smooth.
It’s a well-known fact that the automotive press has run out of superlatives for the BMW 3-series lineup. In the case of the M3, the ultimate 3-series, the praise is typically amplified. Well, not so [...]

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First Look: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics ConceptIf the M division ever decided to build a hybrid the results couldn’t be too different from what we see here.
BMW has already announced two hybrid vehicles that will debut at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, so the fact that its latest concept is also a hybrid shouldn’t be terribly [...]

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Volkswagen will build at least four mainstream models in North America, increase vehicle size, and lower prices.
This week, Volkswagen’s top U.S. brass revealed to us the company’s strategy to nearly triple sales here—to 800,000 vehicles per year—by 2018. In short, the company will produce bigger, cheaper cars in North America while retaining VW’s self-identified core [...]

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+ We take a quick spin in the Fiat 500C 1.4 Lounge, currently on sale in Europe and expected to end up in the U.S. in a couple of years.  [Car and Driver]
+  Official photos and information on the all-new 2011 Saab 9-5 have been released. To be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show next [...]

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Volkswagen has announced a program to help owners of VW and Audi vehicles equipped with the company’s dual-clutch DSG transmissions. After a flurry of complaints to the NHTSA, VW will replace components inside the transmission.
Issues apparently stemmed from faulty temperature sensors that would force the DSG boxes into neutral, often while owners were driving. VW [...]

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Given how stupidly awesome and amazing the Lotus Elise is right out of the box, that it is now offering a “Performance Package” could almost be interpreted as a joke, sort of like Burger King selling a “Heart Attack Edition” Double Whopper with cheese.
But the 2010 Elise Performance Package is no joke. Rather, it’s a [...]

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Mercedes brings a hydrogen-powered compact to market—and you can get it, sort of.
The hydrogen age is dawning on us—a few of us, anyway. Mercedes is bringing 200 units of its compact B-class to market with hydrogen fuel cells in Europe and the U.S. “The B-class F-Cell is taking on a pioneering role as the world’s [...]

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Lotus shows us its hardest hard-core street car yet.
For the 2009 model year, Lotus built a super-hard-core, 257-hp Exige Cup 260, which initially was not offered in the U.S. but which was later offered here to 50 lucky buyers as the Exige S 260 Sport. Meanwhile, Lotus unveiled the look of the 2010 Exige line [...]

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When it emerged from bankruptcy earlier of this year, Chrysler absolved itself of any responsibility for product-liability claims filed for vehicles it had produced up to that point. That meant that buyers that might be injured by the millions of Chrysler vehicles already on the road had no legal recourse against the company. Your Sebring [...]

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Several weeks ahead of this year’s Frankfurt auto show, Inside Line claims to have the scoop on Mini’s future product plans. They say we won’t see the upcoming Mini Crossover at the Frankfurt show. IL doesn’t believe the crossover will be unveiled before 2010 due to development delays.
We can, however, expect to see the Coupe [...]

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